Following the unlawful arrests and detention of dozens of people for their alleged involvements in the 10th August protest, government has on Wednesday 24 August 2022 announced the establishment of a 15-man committee charged with the task of special investigation into the above mentioned protest.
The Special Investigation Committee, composed of state and non-state actors – Civil Society Organizations including the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, the security sector experts, lawyers and ex-service men, is also mandated to examine the fundamental causes of the August 10th 2022 protest.
President Julius Maada Bio in his address to the nation vowed to bring to book perpetrators, financers of the August 10th protest that claimed the lives of six police personnel, dozens of twenty-one unarmed civilians and destroyed private and public property worth huge amount of money.
A public notice issued on Wednesday 24 August from the Office of the President at State House in Freetown announced that government through the presidency instituted a special investigation to examine the causes, sources, of financing, execution and consequences of what is being described as insurrection, as well as the response of the security forces.
Members of the Special Investigation Committee to look into the causes of the August 10, 2022 protest are: Chairman, Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai, Lawrence L. Bassie- Security Sector expert Secretary, the Executive Director Legal Aid Board, National Security Coordinator, Office of National Security, Abdulai Caulker, President of Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, Ahmed Sahid Nasrallah, the President of Sierra Leone Bar Association and Executive Director Defence for Children International. Also on the committee are the National President Women’s Forum Sierra Leone, President Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone, National Chairman Council of Paramount Chiefs, Chairman Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion, Chairman Political Parties registration Commission, Chairman Independent Media Commission, Chairman Retired Senior Police Officers Association and Chairman Sierra Leone Ex-Servicemen’s Association, with critical questions and public concerns looming over the neutrality and objectivity of members of the Special Investigation Committee.
It would be recalled that hundreds of people took to the streets of on 10th August 2022 in protest against high and souring cost of living in the country, calling on government to address the situation, but they were met with violence security reactions that led to the death of six police personnel and twenty-one unarmed civilians.
Following the incident, several non-state actors have been calling for a constructive national dialogue on the way forward for peace, stability and national cohesion, whilst government through the presidency in frequent meetings and engagement with traditional leaders and civic actors reiterating the calling to book of defaulters as major aspect ending impunity and the accountability.
In the wake of pointing suspicious fingers at the main opposition All People’s Congress as the initiators of the August 10th protest, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Parliament, Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah, at a press conference held in parliament called on government and security apparatus to ensure that they give an update and make public the exact number of the people, civilians and police officers alike, who lost their lives in the 8/10 demonstration that turned violent.
“I endorse the call for an independent committee to speedily and conclusively investigate the August 10th demonstrations and its aftermath. The composition and conduct of the committee is credible and non-partisan with the sole aim of providing truthful findings and proffer recommendations that will amongst other things help to provide redress for the families of victims,” he said.
Already so many people have been arrested and detained in police custody even before the protest and have been denied access to legal representation and to their relatives as against the laws of the country.
However president Bio’s appointment of the Special Investigation Committee to look into the causes of the August 10th protest is being viewed by many as pro-ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party card carrying members and one that largely lacks regional and national balance, as most of its members are south and easterners.
Concerns are also anchored around probable compromise of what is widely being referred to as clear involvements of unprofessional state security personnel, mostly attached to the Office of the President’s Closed Protection Unit, of the Sierra Leone Police, who were caught on international media TV cameras; Aljazeera, BBC, CNN etc. all of which with the proclivity of undermining the fair investigation of the matter
